Immortal Refiner

Li Qing’s divine sense enveloped the area, creating a domain of spiritual assault.

In an instant, hundreds of spiritual blades materialized, and with a mere thought, they hurtled toward the Crimson Hair Immortal, whose expression had turned grave.

Sensing the imminent danger, every hair on the Crimson Hair Immortal’s body stood on end. He frantically retracted his divine sense, ceasing all outward projection.

But even this proved too slow to evade the Soul Condensing Slash.

The next moment, a tortured roar echoed through the air.

”Ugh... Aaaah!”

It felt as if a blade had cleaved through his skull, the searing pain assaulting his mind.

His eyes bloodshot, the Crimson Hair Immortal, hair disheveled, clutched his forehead as he glared at Li Qing, whose face had paled slightly.

”I’ll kill you!”

With that, he retrieved a drum from his storage pouch and began to beat it furiously with his hands.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The heavy drumbeats rained down like thunder, unleashing waves of sonic force that surged toward Li Qing.

”A sonic-type rare treasure?” Li Qing’s brow arched as he recognized the peculiar artifact.

Generally speaking, treasures of this type were quite peculiar, either capable of damaging one’s divine soul or influencing one’s mind.

As expected, Li Qing’s divine soul began to tremble violently upon hearing the relentless drumbeats.

His mind reeled, and a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing his vision to blur into double images.

This was his first encounter with such a bizarre magical artifact, leaving him no time to react. As a result, his divine soul suffered considerable damage.

Seeing this, the Crimson Hair Immortal continued to unleash three Po Jun Blades to strike at Li Qing.

However, Li Qing, who maintained constant activation of his Golden Jade Garment, remained completely unfazed by the blades’ attacks.

This meticulously refined garment was not easily breached. A layer of golden light now enveloped even Li Qing’s head, shielding him from the Po Jun Blades’ strikes.

”What kind of protective armor is this? Its defensive capabilities are truly extraordinary,” the Crimson Hair Immortal muttered, realizing that today’s battle would be far more challenging than he had anticipated.

He had assumed that someone with such poor spirit root aptitude would be a soft target, a mere cultivator who knew only meditation and ascetic practices. Now, it was clear that his opponent possessed remarkably rich combat experience.

Judging by the endless stream of tricks Li Qing had up his sleeve, he had clearly underestimated his opponent.

But there was no turning back now. The mask had been torn off, leaving only a life-or-death struggle.

He refused to let Li Qing escape and become a formidable enemy in the future.

Li Qing felt the same way. He wanted to eliminate his opponent now to avoid future complications.

However, the Crimson Hair Immortal continued to beat his strange drum, preventing Li Qing from focusing his full attention on the battle. He could only desperately guard his mind.

Calm down and think!

Neither side could gain the upper hand, resulting in a stalemate.

Li Qing’s mind was under immense strain. He couldn’t continue wielding the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer, and even calming down to strategize had become an excruciatingly difficult task.

Even after blocking his hearing, the chaotic drumbeats continued to reverberate relentlessly in his mind.

Dealing with such a peculiar magical artifact couldn’t be as simple as covering one’s ears!

”How can a mere Fire-Repelling Robe render my Netherworld Cold Fire ineffective? This shouldn’t be possible!”

”Could he have obtained the complete, flawless Fire-Repelling Robe? That ancient treasure is far more precious than even the Golden Jade Garment. How could it possibly reappear in the world?”

”If that’s the case, all my most reliable methods are useless.”

Agitated and frustrated, Li Qing struggled to devise a countermeasure.

”Should I try releasing the ninth insect?”

He quickly dismissed the idea. The ninth insect was his ultimate trump card, to be used only in the most critical moment. Releasing it now would risk its fragile body being shattered by the three Po Jun Blades.

As Li Qing pondered desperately, the excruciating pain in Crimson Hair Immortal’s Sea of Consciousness finally began to subside.

He continued drumming with one hand while the other patted his storage pouch, producing yet another talisman.

Seeing this, Li Qing’s lips twitched involuntarily.

This guy has way too many talismans, he thought. He’s nothing like a proper artifact refiner.

”Hmph, immune to blades and swords? Then try this Thunderfire Talisman!”

Crimson Hair Immortal held the pitch-black talisman between two fingers. Its surface was covered in intricate purple and red runes. With a flick of his wrist, the talisman shattered.

Whoosh!

A thunderclap erupted from the ground!

Rumble!

The air crackled with dense, flickering lightning, and waves of scorching flames surged forth in rapid succession.

Thunder and fire erupted simultaneously, hurtling directly toward the motionless Li Qing.

The talisman’s power was immense. In the instant it activated, it drained all the spiritual energy from an area spanning dozens of kilometers.

Sensing this, Li Qing felt a chill run down his spine.

The Golden Jade Garment not only protected against sword and blade strikes but also shielded his divine sense and resisted Five Elements-based magical attacks.

However, this resistance had its limits. Wearing the garment didn’t grant true invulnerability to all spells or immunity to every Five Elements attack.

After all, the garment’s primary material was Golden Silkworm Silk, and its main function remained defense against bladed magical artifacts.

The searing flames and thunder engulfed the entire area where Li Qing stood in an instant.

Boom!

He quickly felt the Golden Jade Garment begin to fail.

One by one, the golden threads—forged with Warm Sun Jade Marrow—snapped with crisp, resonant sounds, like plucked strings breaking.

Seeing this, the Crimson Hair Immortal grinned savagely.

”Finally, I’ve cracked your turtle shell! That old Fu Xuan’s gadgets are truly effective, though a bit pricey.”

Li Qing’s spirits plummeted. It was clear that once the Fire-Repelling Robe completely collapsed, he would have to face the full onslaught of the Thunderfire head-on!

No, I can’t just sit here and wait to die!

With a swift motion, Li Qing reached into his storage pouch and retrieved a pitch-black forge, which he promptly inverted.

Clang!

The ancient Black Furnace landed upside down on the ground, finally sealing off the dense Thunderfire that had been swarming around him.

In an instant, the mind-altering drumbeat that had been tormenting him vanished, restoring his mental clarity!

”It even blocks sonic attacks? I underestimated you!”

Li Qing’s expression shifted between surprise and delight, his understanding of the Black Furnace’s defensive capabilities deepening once again.

But there was no time for celebration. He couldn’t actively control the Black Furnace; it could only defend passively. He had to seize this hard-won moment of clarity to devise a countermeasure.

Outside, after a sustained barrage, the Thunderfire Talismans gradually ceased their bombardment.

As the combined assault of purple lightning and crimson flames dissipated, Crimson Hair Immortal’s expression darkened further.

His lips paled slightly as he gazed at the perfectly intact furnace.

”You’re a real turtle, aren’t you? You’ve got another layer of shell!”

Even the Thunderfire Talisman hadn’t left a scratch on the forge. His face flushed with anger—he’d never encountered such a resilient opponent before.

Regardless of his offensive capabilities, this enemy had an absurd number of defensive measures!

Furious enough to make his hands tremble slightly, Crimson Hair Immortal directly activated three Po Jun Blades to attack the Black Furnace.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The outcome was predictable: no matter how fiercely the three razor-sharp magical artifacts slashed, they couldn’t even dent the Black Furnace.

Crimson Hair Immortal’s face turned livid.

But soon, he shifted his gaze to the Black Furnace with suspicion: ”Why isn’t this forge emitting any spiritual energy fluctuations?”

As an expert in artifact refinement, he immediately sensed something was amiss.

”Could this be a treasure that has completely lost its spirituality? Reduced to mere scrap metal, incapable of activation?”

To confirm his theory, he condensed a ball of true essence in his palm and hurled it at the Black Furnace.

Bang!

With a dull thud echoing through the air, Crimson Hair Immortal finally confirmed that the forge had indeed lost all its spiritual energy, capable only of passively enduring attacks and utterly unresponsive to activation.

”So that’s it. This forge must have quite the pedigree, possessing such formidable defensive capabilities even after losing its spirituality.”

His gaze burned with intensity as he observed the scene. He then retrieved a Thunderfire Talisman from his storage pouch and slowly approached the Black Furnace.

When he was still more than ten meters away, a sudden unease struck him. Simply walking up and opening the furnace might expose him to unforeseen dangers.

After careful consideration, he decided against taking the risk and instead pulled out a small spirit beast pouch.

”Squeak, squeak!”

A listless, gray rat materialized on the ground—a spirit beast!

”Go, move that furnace!”

The rat, obedient to his command, hopped toward the Black Furnace and began pushing against it.

This was a second-tier spirit beast: a Mountain-Moving Rat!

Its name spoke volumes about its immense strength. After all, why else would it be named after moving mountains?

The next moment, something utterly astonishing happened that made the Crimson Hair Immortal’s jaw drop.

The Mountain-Moving Rat he had raised, a creature of immense strength capable of shifting mountains, couldn’t budge the Black Furnace!

”How can it be so heavy?! What material is this furnace made of?”

In truth, the Black Furnace wasn’t as heavy as he imagined. The reason the Mountain-Moving Rat couldn’t move it despite its efforts was because Li Qing, hidden inside, was gritting his teeth and pressing down on the furnace’s edge, preventing the rat from shifting it.

Thus, man and beast engaged in a comical tug-of-war across the walls of the forge.

”Wait... is this person also a body refinement cultivator?!”

Observing the Black Furnace trembling slightly with an unnatural rhythm, the Crimson Hair Immortal finally grasped the crucial truth.

Confirming Li Qing’s status as a body refinement cultivator, he couldn’t help but gasp, a chill running down his spine.

”A four spirit root cultivator? Impossible!”

He now seriously doubted whether Li Qing truly possessed a four spirit root aptitude. How could someone with such mediocre talent possibly balance spiritual cultivation, body refinement, and artifact refinement without hindering his progress in any of these areas?

This defied all common sense!

Moreover, Li Qing’s body refinement skills were clearly advanced—otherwise, how could he possibly contend with the Mountain-Moving Rat in a test of strength?

(End of the Chapter)

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